The Holiday Sugar Castle on display in the lobby of the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square on Tuesday Dec. 18, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif.

The Holiday Sugar Castle on display in the lobby of the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square on Tuesday Dec. 18, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Gov. Jerry Brown is among those represented.

Gov. Jerry Brown is among those represented.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Executive Pastry Chef, Jean Francois Houdre, creator of the Holiday Sugar Castle at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square on Tuesday Dec. 18, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif.

Executive Pastry Chef, Jean Francois Houdre, creator of the Holiday Sugar Castle at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square on Tuesday Dec. 18, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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2-year-old Sadie Ginestro of Lafayette looks over the annual display of the Sugar Castle at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square on Tuesday Dec. 18, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif.

2-year-old Sadie Ginestro of Lafayette looks over the annual display of the Sugar Castle at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square on Tuesday Dec. 18, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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The Holiday Sugar Castle on display in the lobby of the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square on Tuesday Dec. 18, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif.

The Holiday Sugar Castle on display in the lobby of the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square on Tuesday Dec. 18, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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President Obama and First Lady Michelle displayed on the Holiday Sugar Castle at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square on Tuesday Dec. 18, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif.

President Obama and First Lady Michelle displayed on the Holiday Sugar Castle at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square on Tuesday Dec. 18, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Lady Gaga is depicted in sugar as part of the display at the annual display of the Sugar Castle at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square on Tuesday Dec. 18, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif.

Lady Gaga is depicted in sugar as part of the display at the annual display of the Sugar Castle at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square on Tuesday Dec. 18, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Chef Jean Francois Houdre sugar castle

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Several years ago, pastry chef Jean Francois Houdre and his family were visiting the south of France, where he grew up, touring the area's famous chateaus. The trip ultimately inspired Houdre's annual sugar castle creation at the Westin St. Francis on Union Square - but he gives his children, then ages 5 and 7, all the credit.

"It was my kids' idea," he said. "They said, 'Why don't you do something like this?'"

Houdre and his team's now-annual holiday creation - this year topping 12 feet, and including more than 1,300 pounds of sugar, eggs and other edible ingredients - has become a holiday draw. And for the first time, it includes a political twist: tiny marzipan figurines of important newsmakers, including Mayor Ed Lee, Gov. Jerry Brown, Giants pitcher Sergio Romo, 49ers quarterback Alex Smithand even Clint Eastwood with an empty stool.

The politicization of the work of art was actually General Manager Jon Kimball's idea; Houdre resisted at first, but now admits that it's been a hit. On Wednesday, dozens of tourists were crowded around the rotating work of art, pointing out the mustached Lee, bald Brown and other famous figurines including Madonna, Harry Potter, the president and first lady and Mark Zuckerberg.

The sugar castle, the largest of its kind in the nation, takes about six months to make and more than 2,000 hours of work. Houdre said it's a lot of fun for him and his staff, but is so detail oriented that he can work on any given piece for only about two hours at a time.

"I use it to motivate my team," he said. "It shows them, if you have the skill and inspiration, you can actually do something ... and you have no idea how many people it's going to touch."

The body of the castle is made of pastillage, a dough made of powdered sugar, egg whites and gelitan, but Houdre uses anything he can find for underneath. The towers are covered in fondant wrapped around recycled paper, for example, while the base is foam board left over from conferences at the hotel.

The castle will stay up until Jan. 3, when Houdre and his team will tear it apart - and start planning next year's chateau.

- Marisa Lagos

Menu change: The San Francisco school board unanimously voted late Monday to approve a $9 million contract with a new school lunch provider - a decision that brings an end to frozen meals shipped from Chicago.

Revolution Foods will provide 33,000 meals and snacks to city school kids starting on Jan. 7, the first day back from winter break.

The meals are expected to be healthier, fresher and, as much as possible, made from sustainably produced and locally grown foods.

That means no artificial ingredients, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial trans fats, nothing fried, and all of it made by a real person in a real chef hat at the company's headquarters in Oakland.

The district will spend a bit more for the fresh food- $1.95 per meal, up from $1.79 it now spends. The 18-month contract caps the cost at $9 million annually.